Ireland’s collective a match for Sweden’s one-man band but Ibrahimovic still lands a decisive blow

Richard Jolly analyses the Group E encounter between Sweden and Ireland, two teams with opposing strengths, cancelling each other out.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic may not have fully lived up to his self-titled "legend" tag, but he still made a crucial contribution to Sweden's draw with Ireland. Kenzo Tribouillard / AFP

“The legend can still deliver,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic had said, and the legend did deliver. Not quite in the manner anticipated or with the devastating impact he can have, but he delivered enough to ensure the obituaries of Sweden’s Euro 2016 are not being written already.

A sortie to the byline, a cross into the corridor of uncertainty between goalkeeper and defenders, a header that always threatened to end up in the wrong net: Sweden’s equaliser was debited to Ciaran Clark but made by Ibrahimovic, the man who had previewed the game in typically immodest fashion.

Few in either his native country or his adopted home city would quibble with his description. Ibrahimovic may have anointed himself a legend but his exploits justify such a billing. After a 50-goal season for Paris Saint-Germain came a rescue act for Sweden.

Ibrahimovic had been muted, subdued because he was swamped. Glenn Whelan, the sentry in front of the superstar, cut out passes to the striker. It was a task he performed in a typically understated manner.

But when Sweden trailed, their captain responded. Evidence of his quality came with one volley from Martin Olsson’s cross when, although his back was turned, he almost found the net. The raiding left-back Olsson grew in influence, Ibrahimovic too.

More from Sweden v Ireland:

• Match report: Wes Hoolahan's stunner cancelled out as Ireland and Sweden share the points

• Gallery: Hoolahan lifts Ireland before Ibrahimovic forces own-goal equaliser for Sweden

• Group E preview: Belgium, Ireland, Italy and Sweden

He cancelled out the Republic of Ireland’s lead which, in its own way, provided a twist on a theme in Ibrahimovic’s career. He has a capacity to command the attention but, as teammate and opponent alike, he had been overshadowed by Lionel Messi. This time he ceded the limelight, temporarily, to ‘Wessi’.

Admittedly, few outside the Norwich support refer to Wes Hoolahan in such exalted terms. Ireland’s scorer is only seven months younger than Ibrahimovic, but a newcomer to this stage. Sometimes good things come to those who wait, and his has been a slowburner of a career.

Hoolahan did not leave Ireland until he was 23, did not even appear in England’s second flight until he was 25 and only became a regular for his country after his 30th birthday. His progress has been delayed, but he has never benefited from pace anyway. Technique accounts for his place in Martin O’Neill’s plans and a perfectly-cushioned half-volley showed his ability.

It felt a goal fashioned in the League of Ireland. Seamus Coleman, formerly of Sligo Rovers, crossed for the Shelbourne old boy Hoolahan. Yet Ireland’s advantage was not attributable to one man. They are Sweden’s antithesis, a collective requiring their combined strengths to counter an individual.

They tried and then they tired. They were the brighter to begin with, the more inventive in their thinking, aided by O’Neill’s decision to use a midfield diamond. Sweden’s traditionally British 4-4-2 looked old-fashioned. They played slowly and in straight lines.

Ireland appeared in spaces and between the lines. They showed a cleverer appreciation of the angles, especially in midfield. They camouflaged their weaknesses, aided by sweat-soaked endeavour. Their slower players — Whelan, Hoolahan, captain John O’Shea — were surrounded by speed: marauding full-backs, indefatigable box-to-box runners and twin strikers who were chasers of lost causes.

Stationed on the left of the diamond but roaming intelligently, Jeff Hendrick had a habit of emerging unchecked. He tested Andreas Isaksson with a stinging drive and struck the bar with a long-range effort. The Derby man was the outstanding figure of the first-half, an alliance with Robbie Brady, that began when both were six years old, proving pivotal. Ireland owe much, too, to St Kevin’s Boys club in Dublin, and England’s lower leagues.

They were fearless from the start — a far cry from the timid, staid side of Euro 2012 — but more hesitant when they went ahead. Exhausted by their exertions, they retreated. Ibrahimovic started to loom large, on the pitch and in the imagination. A 1-1 draw between the two outsiders in a tough group may not be the stuff of legend but the ego landed a blow on Ireland nonetheless.

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